A catalogue of errors by social services allowed tragic tot Deraye Lewis to be
brutally beaten to death by his mum's boyfriend, the Citizen can reveal.
This week, as evil Nicholas Halling began a life sentence for
murder, the sad history of his three-year-old victim – and the officials who let
him down – began to unfold.
It has now been confirmed that social workers in neighbouring
Bedfordshire were tipped off that Halling was abusing the
little mixed-race boy some six months before the murder.
Mistake number one came when they failed to pick up the signs of
Halling's racist attacks, which included stubbing out cigarettes on the little
boy's body and calling him racist names.
Instead they believed the cover-up stories from terrified mum
Donna, even when, according to sources, she presented herself "black and blue"
with bruises from Halling's attacks on her. Three months before Deraye's death,
Donna finally admitted Halling was beating her and fled to safety in Milton
Keynes.
But mistake number two came when Bedfordshire social services
omitted to pass the information on to Milton Keynes social services, though they
stated clearly on her emergency housing application that she was 'fleeing
domestic violence'.
This led to mistake number three – when Milton Keynes housing
department failed to inform their own colleagues in
social services they had moved a vulnerable mum and child into a house in
Bletchley's Osborne Street.
Thus when scared and lonely 21-year-old Donna rekindled the
relationship with her bullying, older boyfriend, not one
official was there to notice.
Not surprisingly, the violence continued – worse than ever. On
New Year's Eve 2005, just hours before little Deraye's death, Donna was so
scared that she called the police out to her home.
But, intimidated by Halling, she withdrew her complaint that she
had been assaulted.
Officers noticed little Deraye had been crying but could see no
'obvious' injuries.
Unaware of the previous history, they took no action and left.
Deraye spent the rest of the day complaining of stomach ache and being sick and
neighbours heard Halling shout: "That f........g baby is spoiling my life. We
can't do anything without him spoiling things."
Hours later, on New Year's Day morning, Donna woke up to find the son she loved
lying dead in bed beside her.
More than 70 injuries were found on his tiny body. His bowel had
been ruptured, his eardrum perforated, the surface of his brain bruised and his
skin burned with cigarettes.
It was 'abundantly clear', according to the judge who last week
sentenced Halling, that the child had been treated with 'contempt, hostility and
violence' over a period of at least a year.
"You were intolerant, abusive, domineering and you hit him many
times, if not
habitually, on the head.
"You called him names that were very offensive and racially
charged.
"You are, and you have been for a long time, a violent bully,"
Mr Justice Hughes told Halling as he ordered him to serve a minimum of 20 years.
This week, both Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes social services
departments admitted they should have acted differently.
A Milton Keynes Council spokesman said its procedures had now been improved.
"Unmistakably there needs to be much clearer cross-border
communication between different authorities in cases like this. All the agencies
involved have learned lessons," he said.
A Beds County Council spokesman said a Local Safeguarding
Children's Board had now been formed.
"We investigated concerns about Deraye's welfare... clearly, with the benefit of
hindsight, more could have been done to
liaise with other agencies," he said
Email:
sally.murrer@mkcitizen.co.uk
Related online articles:
Luton on Sunday - Violent baby killer was on probation April 23 2006
Milton Keynes News - Toddler was scared of his mum's boyfriend April 26 2006
Times - Years of abuse ended in murder of boy, 3 April 21, 2006
Social services admit errors on tragic tot April 26 2006
